American open-wheel car racing

1994 Indianapolis 500, a National Championship race

Scott Dixon, the reigning National Champion.

American Championship car racing, also known as Indy Car racing, is a category of professional-level automobile racing in the United States and North America. As of 2015, the top-level American open wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.

Competitive events for professional-level, single-seat open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been officially recognized in 1905, 1916, and since 1920. The Indianapolis 500, which itself debuted in 1911, is the marquee event of Indy Car racing.

The open-wheeled, winged, single-seater cars have generally been similar to those in Formula One, though there are important differences. The fame of the Indianapolis 500 leads many to refer to the cars that would typically compete in American Championship car racing as "Indy cars." These machines were popularized during the rising popularity of the CART PPG Indy Car World Series racing in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Sanctioning bodies

AAA (1902–1955)

The national championship was sanctioned by the Contest Board of the American Automobile Association (AAA). The AAA first sanctioned automobile motorsports events in 1902. At first it used the rules of the Automobile Club of America (ACA), but it formed its own rules in 1903. It introduced the first track season championship for racing cars in 1905. Barney Oldfield was the first champion. No official season championship was recognized from 1906-1915, however, single races were held. Official records regard 1916 as the next contested championship season. Years later, retroactive titles were named back to 1902. These post-factum seasons (1902-1904, 1906-1915, and 1917-1919) are considered unofficial and revisionist history by accredited historians.

Racing did not cease in the United States during WWI, but the official national championship was suspended. The Indianapolis 500 itself was voluntarily suspended for 1917–1918 due to the war. In 1920, the championship officially resumed, and despite the difficult economic climate that would later follow, ran continuous throughout the Depression. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, all auto racing was suspended during WWII. From 1942 to 1945 no events were contested, banned by the U.S. government primarily on account of rationing. Racing resumed in full in 1946. The 1946 season is unique, in that it included six Champ Car events, and 71 "Big Car" races, as organizers were initially unsure about the availability of cars and participation.

AAA ceased participation in auto racing at the end of the 1955 season. It cited a series of high-profile fatal accidents, namely Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis, and the Le Mans disaster.

Through 1922 and again from 1930 to 1937, it was commonplace for the cars to be two-seaters, as opposed to the aforementioned standard single-seat form. The driver would be accompanied by a riding mechanic (or "mechanician").

USAC (1956–1978)

The national championship was taken over by the United States Auto Club (USAC), a new sanctioning body formed by the then-owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony Hulman. Championship racing continued to grow in popularity in a stabilized environment for over two decades, with the two traditional disciplines of paved oval tracks and dirt oval tracks. During the 1950s, Indy Roadsters became the dominant cars on the paved oval tracks, while "upright" Champ Dirt Cars continued to dominate on dirt tracks. In the 1960s, drivers and team owners with road racing backgrounds, both American and foreign, began creeping into the series and the paved oval track cars evolved from front-engine roadsters to rear-engine formula-style racers. Technology, speed, and expense climbed at a rapid rate. The schedule continued to be dominated by oval tracks, but a few road course races were added to assuage the newcomers. Dirt tracks were dropped from the national championship after 1970.

During the 1970s, the increasing costs began to drive some of the traditional USAC car owners out of the sport. The dominant teams became Penske, Patrick, Gurney, and McLaren, all run by people with road racing backgrounds. There was a growing dissent between these teams and USAC management. Events outside of Indianapolis were suffering from low attendance, and poor promotion. The Indy 500 was televised on a same day tape delayed basis on ABC, however, most of the other races had little or no coverage on television.

Towards the end of the decade, the growing dissent promoted several car owners to consider creating a new sanctioning body to conduct the races. Meanwhile, two events had a concomitant effect on the situation. Tony Hulman president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of USAC, died in the fall of 1977. A few months later, eight key USAC officials were killed in a plane crash. By the end of 1978, the owners had broken away and founded Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) to wrestle control of Championship racing away from USAC.

CART & USAC (1979–1981): First open wheel "split"

Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was formed by most of the existing team owners, with some initial assistance from the SCCA. Therefore, there were two national championships run each by USAC and CART. The Indianapolis 500 remained under USAC sanction. The top teams allied to CART, and the CART championship quickly became the more prestigious national championship. USAC ran a "rump" 1979 season, with few name drivers — the only exception being A. J. Foyt. In 1979, USAC denied several of the entries from the CART teams at the 1979 Indianapolis 500. The controversy saw a court injunction during the month, which allowed the CART-affiliated entrants to participate.

In 1980 USAC and CART jointly formed the Championship Racing League (CRL) to jointly run the national championship, but IMS management disliked the idea. USAC pulled out of the CRL arrangement in July. CART continued with the schedule for the remainder of the season. Both CART and USAC awarded separate national championship titles that year, and Johnny Rutherford happened to win both.

In 1981–1982, the Indianapolis 500 remained sanctioned by USAC. The preeminent national championship was now the one being sanctioned by CART. The Indy 500 field would consist largely of CART teams, as well as numerous independent, "Indy-only" teams. Indianapolis was not included as a points-paying round of the CART national championship. In addition, by that time USAC had designated Indianapolis an "invitational" race, offering entries only to invited teams. That moved to prevent the uproar over denied entries which occurred in 1979. One further race in 1981 was run by USAC at Pocono. This race was not supported by many CART teams, and featured a mixed field filled out by converted dirt track cars. USAC soon stopped sanctioning championship races outside of the Indianapolis 500.

CART & USAC (1982–1995)

Stability returned and the national championship was now run by CART full-time. The Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned singly by USAC, but points were paid towards the CART season championship. The Indy 500 field would consist of the CART regulars, and numerous one-off entries.

USAC's Gold Crown Championship continued, settling into an unusual June through May schedule calendar. This provided that the Indianapolis 500 would be the final race of the respective season. However, during that period, the USAC Gold Crown schedule never included more than one race (i.e., Indianapolis). As such, the winner of the Indy 500 would mathematically win the USAC Gold Crown Championship.

CART & IRL (1996–2003): Second open wheel "split"

In 1996, Tony Hulman's grandson, Tony George, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway created the Indy Racing League (IRL), a separate championship that initially leveraged the fame of the Indianapolis 500, which saw the exclusion of many of CART's top teams from that event. The IRL's results are either listed alongside the existing national championship [1] or treated as an entirely separate entity and not included. [2] [3]

In March 1996, CART filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an effort to protect their license to the IndyCar mark which the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had attempted to terminate. In April, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway filed a countersuit against CART to prevent them from further use of the mark. Eventually a settlement was reached in which CART agreed to give up the use of the IndyCar mark following the 1996 season and the IRL could not use the name before the end of the 2002 season. George initially let the USAC continue to sanction the IRL, however after judging controversies at 1997 Indy 500 and Texas Motor Speedway, the USAC was replaced by the IRL's in-house officiating.

CART's existing national championship remained dominant after the split for some time, initially retaining top drivers, teams, sponsors, and fans. In 1998, CART went public and raised $100 million USD in its stock offering. However, in 2000, CART teams began to return to the Indy 500, eventually defecting to the IRL. CART also suffered negative publicity over the cancellation of the Firestone Firehawk 600 in 2001. For 2003, it lost title sponsor FedEx and engine providers Honda and Toyota to the IRL.

IRL IndyCar Series & Champ Car World Series (2004–2007)

The rights to CART's assets were purchased by a consortium called Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS) in 2004 and the series was renamed the Champ Car Open Wheel Racing Series, later renaming it to Champ Car World Series (CCWS) LLC. However, the sanctioning body continued to be plagued by financial difficulties, In 2007, CCWS's presenting sponsors Bridgestone and Ford Motor Company withdrew and CCWS lacked the resources to mount the 2008 season.

During this time, the IRL was now operating under the moniker IndyCar Series.

IndyCar (2008–2015): Unification era

Prior to the start of the 2008 season, the CCWS Board authorized bankruptcy and Champ Car was absorbed into the IRL, creating one unified series for the national championship for the first time since 1978. The unified series competed under the name IndyCar Series. All historical record and property of CART/CCWS was assumed by the IRL. In 2011, the sanctioning body dropped the Indy Racing League name, becoming IndyCar to reflect the merged series.

Car names and trademarks

Marlboro Penske PC-23 Indy/Champ car

Race cars participating in national championship events have been referred to by various names. Early nomenclature was to call the machines "Championship Cars," which was later shortened to "Champ Cars." The ambiguous term "Big Cars" was also used by some in early years. A term that reflected the machines being larger and faster than junior formulae such as sprints and midgets. That term quickly disappeared from use, instead being used to describe Sprint cars. In the post-WWII era, the term "Speedway Cars" was also used, a loosely descriptive term, distinguishing the machines as those driven at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other major speedways, as opposed to those driven at local dirt tracks, for instance.

In most years since the USAC era, the term "Indy cars" (after the Indy 500) has been the preferred moniker. Apropos to that, when CART was founded in 1979, its acronym stood for Championship Auto Racing Teams, which reflected the historical use of the term "Championship Car." Soon thereafter, CART started exclusively marketing itself with the two-word "Indy Car" term, advertising itself as the "CART Indy Car World Series."

Through the 1980s, the term "Indy car" referred to machines used to compete in events sanctioned by CART, as well as the machines competing in the Indianapolis 500 (singly sanctioned by USAC). All references to the name "CART" were being increasingly discouraged as the series sought to eliminate possible confusion from casual fans with Kart racing.

In 1992, the CamelCase term "IndyCar" was trademarked by IMS, Inc. It was licensed to CART through 1997. After the inception of the IRL in 1996, the terms of the contract were voided after a lawsuit. As part of the settlement, the term was shelved by a six-year non-use agreement. Following the settlement, and the lack of direct connection to the Indianapolis 500, CART decided to revert to the former term. It re-branded itself as Champ Car and the machines were referred to as "Champ cars."

Complicating the situation resulting from the open-wheel split, Champ Car races held outside the United States were still permitted to use the Indy moniker (e.g., Molson Indy Toronto and Lexmark Indy 300). Foreign venue promoters took advantage of the marketing power of the Indy 500 name for their events, even though the Champ Car series they were promoting no longer had any ties to that race. The exceptions created confusion, and Champ Car gradually phased out the usage to distance itself further from the IRL.

After the settlement expired in 2003, the IndyCar term was brought back. The top level of the Indy Racing League was re-branded as the "IndyCar Series." The machines in the series were also referred to as "Indy cars." Despite the official acknowledgment, media and fans alike would continue to use the term "IRL" to describe the series, and to a lesser extent, "IRL cars" to describe the machines. Removing the "IRL" term from use proved difficult.

With two series (IndyCar and Champ Car) still competing separately, the umbrella term "Open Wheel Cars" saw increased use during the split and post-split era. Many drivers during the era competed in both series at one time or another. The term was mostly used as a way to combine a driver's career accomplishments without being series/machine specific.

In 2008, when Champ Car merged into the Indy Racing League, the term "Champ Car" was abandoned, and all open wheel racing fell under the "IndyCar" name once again. On January 1, 2011, the name "Indy Racing League" (and "IRL") was officially abandoned, with the sanctioning body re-branded as IndyCar.

Comparison with Formula One

At first, American and European open-wheel racing were not distinct disciplines. Races on both continents were mostly point-to-point races, and large ovals tracks emerged on both continents. But in America, racing took off at horse-race tracks and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while in Europe, racing from point to point and around large circuits gained in popularity. Grand Prix racing (which became Formula One) and rally racing then diverged in Europe. Formula One was established after World War II as the World Championship for road racing, and F1 cars became increasingly specialized and high-tech.

In the 1960s, road racing gained popularity in North America, and Formula One-style design ideas changed IndyCars, which until then had all been classic-styled front-engined roadsters. When North America's road racing championship, Can-Am Challenge, collapsed in the 1970s, the IndyCars were ready to fill the void. IndyCar was a combination road- and oval-racing championship from this time until the Split. Compared to F1 cars, IndyCars were partly specialized for oval-racing: they were larger and had other safety features, and were designed to run at the higher speeds necessary for oval racing. Because IndyCars were usually "customer" cars that the teams purchased from constructors, and because of rules to contain costs, they were considerably less expensive than F1 cars, each model of which was designed by the team that used it. After the Split in the 1990s, CART maintained the old formula while the IRL drifted toward the "spec" design that has been the only IndyCar model since 2003 (which changed in 2012, with specialized aero kits available starting in 2015).

As engine formulas have changed, and as engine technology has developed over time, F1 cars and IndyCars have each produced more power than the other at different times. But for the foreseeable future, F1 cars will have considerably more power than the spec IndyCar.

Alex Zanardi, who drove both in F1 and CART, said that the lighter, naturally aspirated F1 car was more responsive and accelerated off the turns faster, while the turbocharged CART car was more stable and accelerated to top speed faster.

There is debate on which series is more demanding, . Some point out that champions that retired from F1 have won CART championships, and that drivers that did not excel in F1 have continued their careers and succeeded in IndyCar, while successful IndyCar drivers have tried but failed to get a seat in even a low level Formula One team. In fact, since IndyCar's heyday in the 1990s, the difference between the money and attention spent on IndyCar and on F1 has become more pronounced. Others, argue that IndyCar is more demanding because the cars are more difficult to drive as they do not handle as well, IndyCar races on both road/street courses as well as high-speed ovals, as well as the similarity between the cars places more demands on the drivers and engineers to come up with competitive car setups rather than simply having better equipment.

Caution periods are also done differently in Formula One and IndyCars. Largely because of IndyCar's oval-racing heritage, incidents that leave a hazard on or near the track always draw a full-course caution period. Because the entire field of cars gathers behind the leader for each restart, IndyCars that have fallen back in the field can earn a chance to challenge the leaders by making strategic pit stops. IndyCar-style caution periods also force the leader to withstand a possible challenge with every restart. By contrast, caution periods are usually only called in F1 for hazards on the track itself, so F1 drivers are by comparison more likely to be judged by their lap driving ability alone than by their pit strategy or aggression during restarts. However with a recent change in racing tyre for F1, pit strategies have played a much larger role in more recent races and have contributed to a more varying and unpredictable race.

Open-wheel cars

• "Indy car" is a generic name for championship open wheel auto racing in the United States. "Indy car" initially described an open-wheel car that participated in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. Originally, the cars were generally referred to as "Championship cars". However, as the result of the genre's fundamental link to Indianapolis, many people started to use the Indy car name in order to differentiate the Indianapolis-style open-wheel cars from other types of open-wheel cars, such as those used in Formula One.
• In general, Indy cars of both CART and IndyCar are slower on street and road courses, being less expensive and technology-centric platforms than their Formula One counterparts. This was even the case during the CART PPG era during the mid to late 1990s. Currently, with the bid to keep costs down around teams, a competitive Indy car team like Newman/Haas Racing operates on approximately US$20 Million per season, while the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team has an annual budget of US$400 million. In particular, the Formula One chassis was required to be built by their respective team/constructor, whereas an Indy car chassis could be purchased. The dominance of a select few manufacturers has essentially turned the IndyCar Series into a spec series. CART/CCWS became a spec series more intentionally for cost savings purposes.

Racing description

• Indy car racing historically tended to take place on high speed ovals, while Formula One used primarily permanent road courses. Recently, however, Champ Car had no oval tracks for the 2007 season which was its last, while the IRL added street courses to what was originally an all-oval series, and currently IndyCar has a nearly equal balance of ovals and non-ovals. Recently, however, IndyCar has seen fewer ovals on its schedule than non-ovals.
• Indy car racing was dominated by North American drivers until the 1990s, which saw incursions from European and South American drivers. This led to Tony George forming the IRL in order to promote American drivers. Conversely, American drivers have never found great success in Formula One since the 1970s, the last drivers' champion and race winner was Mario Andretti.
• Due partly to the lack of American drivers, Formula One has struggled to establish itself in that market, at certain years not having a United States Grand Prix on the calendar (before the return of F1 to the United States in 2012, the most recent was from 2000 to 2007). In a parallel, CART/CCWS/IRL has made little headway outside of the United States and Canada, even though it regularly has a handful of tracks around the world.

Types of circuits

Further information: List of auto racing tracks in the United States

The American National Championship is notable for the wide variety of racetracks it has used compared to other series, such as Formula One and the various forms of Endurance sports car racing. The mainstays of the championship are as follow:

• Paved ovals and tri-ovals (e.g. Indianapolis, Texas)
• Permanent (or "Natural") road courses (e.g. Barber, Mid-Ohio)
• Temporary street courses (e.g. Long Beach, St. Pete)
• Combined road course (e.g. Grand Prix of Indianapolis)

Until 1970 the championship frequently raced on dirt and clay tracks, but all such tracks were removed permanently by USAC before the 1971 season.

From 1915 to 1931 board tracks were frequently used for championship races, however safety concerns and cost of maintenance, especially with the onset of the Great Depression, and nearly all were demolished in the 1930s.

The Pikes Peak Hillclimb was a round of the championship in the years 1947—1955 and 1965—1969.

In 1909 a point-to-point race from Los Angeles to Phoenix was included in the championship.

Airport runways have also been used to create temporary circuits. The most notable used for open wheel racing was the Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport. St. Pete and Edmonton also utilize airport runways for parts of the course, however, they lead back to streets for the rest of the lap.

Events outside of the United States

For the majority of the National Championship, the races have been held inside the United States. American championship cars raced at the Monza oval in 1957 and 1958 alongside Formula One and sports cars in the non-championship Race of Two Worlds. Also, in 1966 there was a non-championship USAC race at Fuji Speedway in Japan. The first championship events outside of the U.S. took place in 1967 at Mosport and Saint-Jovite in Canada. In 1971, the USAC season-opening race was held at Rafaela. In the autumn of 1978, two races were held in England, the first at Silverstone, then a week later at Brands Hatch.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, CART expanded throughout North America, venturing into Mexico (Mexico City) and Canada (Sanair, Toronto and Vancouver). In the 1990s and early 2000s, international expansion reached overseas with events at Surfer's Paradise, Rio de Janeiro, Motegi, Lausitz, and Rockingham.

Trophies and Awards

Astor Cup

Main article: Astor Cup (auto race)

In 2011 IndyCar revived the Astor Cup, first awarded in 1915 as the series championship trophy. A black granite base has been added displaying the names of all the American Championship car racing series winners since 1909.

Vanderbilt Cup

Main article: Vanderbilt Cup

The 1916, 1936 and 1937 Vanderbilt Cup races were included in the National Championship. The 1909–1915 races were retrospectively added to the championship in 1926. CART resurrected the Cup in 1996 as the winner's trophy for the US500 race. When that race was discontinued in 2000, the Cup changed roles and became the championship trophy. Champ Car retained the rights to use the trophy after CART's bankruptcy, but use of the trophy was discontinued after Champ Car's merger with the Indy Racing League.

Indianapolis 500 as part of the National Championship

From its inception in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 has been considered the marquee event of Championship/Indy Car racing. The race has been held every year from 1911-2014, with the exception of 1917-1918 (WWI) and 1942-1945 (WWII). The Indianapolis 500 has been part of an official National Championship in 1916, 1920-1941, and 1946-2014. In the years from 1911-1915, as well as 1919, the race was held, but it was not attached to an officially recognized national championship.

Winning the Indianapolis 500 has frequently been considered at near or equal profile to winning the National Championship. However, direct comparisons are difficult as many of the national champions are also Indy 500 winners in their own right. In many instances, drivers have won both the 500 and the championship in the same calendar year.

During the first USAC/CART open wheel "split," which encompasses the period from 1979-1995, the status of the Indianapolis 500 as part of the National Championship changed somewhat. The Indy 500 was sanctioned by USAC, and during that time, was officially part of the USAC Gold Crown Championship calendar. However, the bulk of the field was CART-based teams and drivers. The Indy 500 paid points to the CART title in 1979 and 1980, but did not count towards the CART title in 1981 and 1982. By 1983, an arrangement was made such that the Indy 500 would continue to be sanctioned singly by USAC, but be it would be recognized on the CART schedule, and pay championship points towards the CART title.

Starting in 1996, the Indianapolis 500 became part of the new Indy Racing League championship. All ties to the CART championship were severed. It was beginning of the second open wheel "split." In 2008, when the two series unified as IndyCar, ending the "split," the Indianapolis 500 was now part of the unified IndyCar national championship.

Notable drivers

Further information: List of American Championship Car winners

• The driver with the most championship titles and race wins is A. J. Foyt. From 1959 to 1981 Foyt won 67 USAC championship races and seven USAC titles.
• Tony Bettenhausen (19) is credited with the most AAA championship race wins.
• Michael Andretti has won the most CART/Champ Car-sanctioned races (42).
• Scott Dixon (34) has the most IRL/IndyCar championship race wins.
• Mario Andretti is the most successful driver born outside the United States with 52 total wins (33 USAC & 19 CART) and 4 titles (3 USAC & 1 CART).
• France's Sebastien Bourdais is the most successful non-U.S. citizen (31 wins, 4 titles).
• Danica Patrick is the only woman to ever win a National Championship-level open wheel race (Motegi, 2008). Sarah Fisher was the first female driver to win a pole position (Kentucky, 2002).
• Four drivers have held the crowns of CART Champion and Formula One World Driving Champion.
  • Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve
• Six other drivers have won both a National Championship race as well as at least one Formula One Grand Prix (except the Indianapolis 500 when it was part of the World Driver's Championship). They are as follows:
  • Peter Revson, Dan Gurney, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jackie Stewart

Notable fatalities in competition

Further information: List of fatal Champ Car accidents

Further information: List of Indianapolis 500 fatal accidents

• Ted Horn, champion in 1946-1947-1948, died after crashing at the DuQuoin dirt track in late 1948.
• Defending Indianapolis 500 winners Floyd Roberts and Bill Vukovich were killed during the 1939 and 1955 Indy 500s respectively.
• 1951 and 1958 champion Tony Bettenhausen was killed in a crash at Indianapolis in May 1961.
• Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald were killed during the 1964 Indianapolis 500.
• Art Pollard (practice) and Swede Savage (race) died of injuries suffered during the 1973 Indianapolis 500.
• Gordon Smiley was killed while attempting to qualify for the 1982 Indianapolis 500.
• 1996 Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter Scott Brayton was killed May 17, 1996 during a practice session for the Indianapolis 500.
• Greg Moore died after an October 31, 1999 crash in the Marlboro 500 at Fontana.
• Dan Wheldon died after a 15-car pile-up on the 11th lap of the IZOD IndyCar World Championships at Las Vegas on October 16, 2011.
• Justin Wilson died on August 24, 2015, the day after a crash on lap 180 of the 2015 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.

National champions

Dario Resta, 1916 National Champion

Jimmy Murphy (right), 1921 & 1924 National Champion

A. J. Foyt, 7-time National Champion (1960, '61, '63, '64, '67, '75, '79)

Mario Andretti; 1965, 1966, 1969, & 1984 Champion

Rick Mears; 1979, 1981, & 1982 IndyCar Champion

Nigel Mansell, 1993 IndyCar Champion

Jacques Villeneuve, 1995 IndyCar Champion

Juan Pablo Montoya, 1999 CART Champion

Sébastien Bourdais, 4-time Champ Car World Series champion (2004–2007)

Dario Franchitti; 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 IndyCar Series champion

Year	Champion
AAA National Motor Car Championship
1905	Barney Oldfield
1906–1915: No championships
AAA National Championship
1916	Dario Resta
1917–1919: No championships (World War I)
1920	Gaston Chevrolet
1921	Tommy Milton
1922	Jimmy Murphy
1923	Eddie Hearne
1924	Jimmy Murphy
1925	Peter DePaolo
1926	Harry Hartz
1927	Peter DePaolo
1928	Louis Meyer
1929	Louis Meyer
1930	Billy Arnold
1931	Louis Schneider
1932	Bob Carey
1933	Louis Meyer
1934	Bill Cummings
1935	Kelly Petillo
1936	Mauri Rose
1937	Wilbur Shaw
1938	Floyd Roberts
1939	Wilbur Shaw
1940	Rex Mays
1941	Rex Mays
1942–1945: No championships (World War II)
1946	Ted Horn
1947	Ted Horn
1948	Ted Horn
1949	Johnnie Parsons
1950	Henry Banks
1951	Tony Bettenhausen
1952	Chuck Stevenson
1953	Sam Hanks
1954	Jimmy Bryan
1955	Bob Sweikert
USAC National Championship
1956	Jimmy Bryan
1957	Jimmy Bryan
1958	Tony Bettenhausen
1959	Rodger Ward
1960	A. J. Foyt
1961	A. J. Foyt
1962	Rodger Ward
1963	A. J. Foyt
1964	A. J. Foyt
1965	Mario Andretti
1966	Mario Andretti
1967	A. J. Foyt
1968	Bobby Unser
1969	Mario Andretti
1970	Al Unser
1971	Joe Leonard
1972	Joe Leonard
1973	Roger McCluskey
1974	Bobby Unser
1975	A. J. Foyt
1976	Gordon Johncock
1977	Tom Sneva
1978	Tom Sneva
Year	USAC Championship	Year	SCCA/CART Series
1979	A. J. Foyt	1979	Rick Mears
Year	USAC Gold Crown ChampionshipAB	Year	CART Series
1980	Johnny RutherfordA	1980	Johnny Rutherford
1981–82	George SniderA	1981	Rick Mears
		1982	Rick Mears
1982–83	Tom SnevaA	1983	Al Unser
1983–84	Rick MearsA	1984	Mario Andretti
1984–85	Danny SullivanB	1985	Al Unser
1985–86	Bobby RahalB	1986	Bobby Rahal
1986–87	Al UnserB	1987	Bobby Rahal
1987–88	Rick MearsB	1988	Danny Sullivan
1988–89	Emerson FittipaldiB	1989	Emerson Fittipaldi
1989–90	Arie LuyendykB	1990	Al Unser, Jr.
1990–91	Rick MearsB	1991	Michael Andretti
1991–92	Al Unser, Jr.B	1992	Bobby Rahal
1992–93	Emerson FittipaldiB	1993	Nigel Mansell
1993–94	Al Unser, Jr.B	1994	Al Unser, Jr.
1994–95	Jacques VilleneuveB	1995	Jacques Villeneuve
Year	Indy Racing League	1996	Jimmy Vasser
1996	Buzz Calkins / Scott Sharp
1996–97	Tony Stewart	1997	Alex Zanardi
1998	Kenny Bräck	1998	Alex Zanardi
1999	Greg Ray	1999	Juan Pablo Montoya
2000	Buddy Lazier	2000	Gil de Ferran
2001	Sam Hornish, Jr.	2001	Gil de Ferran
2002	Sam Hornish, Jr.	2002	Cristiano da Matta
Year	IRL IndyCar Series	2003	Paul Tracy
2003	Scott Dixon	Year	Champ Car World Series
2004	Tony Kanaan	2004	Sébastien Bourdais
2005	Dan Wheldon	2005	Sébastien Bourdais
2006	Sam Hornish, Jr.	2006	Sébastien Bourdais
2007	Dario Franchitti	2007	Sébastien Bourdais
Year	INDYCAR
2008	Scott Dixon
2009	Dario Franchitti
2010	Dario Franchitti
2011	Dario Franchitti
2012	Ryan Hunter-Reay
2013	Scott Dixon
2014	Will Power
2015	Scott Dixon

^A From 1979 to 1995, the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the American Open Wheel National Championship were sanctioned by separate organizations, USAC and CART, respectively, with the former running a multi-race championship series, the USAC Gold Crown Championship, independent of the latter from 1979 to 1984.

^B From 1984 to 1995, while winners of the USAC Gold Crown Championship continued to be officially declared, such championship, officially beginning just after the previous year's race, then consisted solely of the "season-ending" race at Indianapolis, thus making such winners indistinguishable from Indianapolis winners in the respective years of such championships' conclusions.

Retrospectively awarded champions

In 1927 Arthur Means, the Assistant Secretary of the AAA Contest Board, with the approval of Secretary Val Haresnape, retrospectively calculated championship results for major AAA-sanctioned races run between 1909 and 1915 and for 1917 to 1920. The pair also initially changed the 1920 championship winner to Tommy Milton, but by no later than 1929 had restored Gaston Chevrolet.

In 1951 Russ Catlin officially revised AAA records with championship results based on all AAA races from 1902 to 1915 and 1916 to 1919, first published his list in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 program. This had the effect of retroactively creating seven newly credited champions and changing the 1909 champion from Bert Dingley to George Robertson and the 1920 champion from Gaston Chevrolet to Tommy Milton. IndyCar currently recognizes Russ Catlin's list from 1909-1919, but with Gaston Chevrolet as champion for 1920.

Each year from 1909 to 1915 and in 1919, the American automobile journal Motor Age selected a "driver of the year". Likewise, other contemporary publications such as The Horseless Age, MoToR, The New York Times, and Los Angeles Times made similar selections.

It should be noted that all retrospectively awarded championships named by Means/Haresnape and Catlin are unequivocally considered unofficial by accredited historians and statisticians. Furthermore, some consider them revisionist history, and discredit the entire effort made by both parties as illegitimate, unnecessary, fictional, and not consistent with contemporary accounts. These actions have made it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction regarding AAA sanctioned national racing in that proper handbooks and official statistical supplements still partially intermix the revisionist accounts with official record.

Year	Means & Haresnape (1926–27)	Russ Catlin (1951)	Motor Age (annual)	Horseless Age (annual)	Others (annual)
1902	—	Harry Harkness	—	—	—
1903	—	Barney Oldfield	—	—	—
1904	—	George Heath	—	—	—
1905	—	Victor Hémery	—	—	—
1906	—	Joe Tracy	—	—	—
1907	—	Eddie Bald	—	—	—
1908	—	Lewis Strang	—	—	—
1909	Bert Dingley	George Robertson	Bert Dingley	—	—
1910	Ray Harroun	Ray Harroun	Ralph Mulford	—	—
1911	Ralph Mulford	Ralph Mulford	Harvey Herrick	—	—
1912	Ralph DePalma	Ralph DePalma	Ralph DePalma	—	Teddy Tezlaff (L.A. Times) Bob Burman (NYT) Ralpha De Palma (Chicago)
1913	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper
1914	Ralph DePalma	Ralph DePalma	Ralph DePalma	Ralph DePalma (road racing) Rene Thomas (speedways)	Ralph De Palma (MoToR)
1915	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper (road racing) Gil Andersen (speedways) Eddie Rickenbacker (tracks)	Earl Cooper (road racing) Eddie Rickenbacker (speedways) Earl Cooper (overall)	Earl Cooper (MoToR-road racing) Dario Resta (MoToR-speedways)
1916	Dario Resta	Dario Resta	—	—	—
1917	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper	Earl Cooper	—	—
1918	Ralph Mulford	Ralph Mulford	—	—	—
1919	Howard Wilcox	Howard Wilcox	Tommy Milton (road racing) Eddie Hearne (speedways) Eddie Hearne (overall)	—	—
1920	Tommy Milton Gaston ChevroletA	Tommy Milton	—	—	—

^A Harsnape and Means originally awarded the 1920 championship to Milton, but subsequently reverted to Chevrolet.

Multiple championship winners

This list of champions includes winners of all titles awarded in the "National champions" list above (including the "USAC Gold Crown Championship" which, in some years, was awarded to the winner of the Indy 500).

Wins	Driver	Titles
7	A. J. Foyt	USAC National Championship (6), USAC Championship (1)
6	Rick Mears	SCCA/CART Series (1), CART Series (2), USAC Gold Crown Championship (3)
4	Mario Andretti	USAC National Championship (3), CART Series (1)
	Bobby Rahal	CART Series (3), USAC Gold Crown Championship (1)
	Al Unser, Jr.	CART Series (2), USAC Gold Crown Championship (2)
	Sébastien Bourdais	Champ Car World Series (4)
	Dario Franchitti	IndyCar Series (4)
	Scott Dixon	IndyCar Series (4)
3	Louis Meyer	AAA National Championship (3)
	Ted Horn	AAA National Championship (3)
	Jimmy Bryan	AAA National Championship (1), USAC National Championship (2)
	Al Unser	CART Series (2), USAC National Championship (1)
	Emerson Fittipaldi	CART Series (1), USAC Gold Crown Championship (2)
	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Indy Racing League (2), IndyCar Series (1)
2	Jimmy Murphy	AAA National Championship (2)
	Wilbur Shaw	AAA National Championship (2)
	Rex Mays	AAA National Championship (2)
	Tony Bettenhausen	AAA National Championship (1), USAC National Championship (1)
	Joe Leonard	USAC National Championship (2)
	Tom Sneva	USAC National Championship (2)
	Johnny Rutherford	CART Series (1), USAC Gold Crown Championship (1)
	Jacques Villeneuve	CART Series (1), USAC Gold Crown Championship (1)
	Alex Zanardi	CART Championship Series (2)
	Gil de Ferran	CART Championship Series (2)

See also

• List of American Championship Car winners
• List of American Championship Car Rookie of the Year Winners
• NASCAR Speedway Division
• American Indycar Series

External links

• ChampCarStats.com complete AAA, USAC, CART, CCWS and IRL race results.